Punahou quarterback Ephraim Tuliloa carries the ball against Hilo. Tuliloa finished the afternoon with five total touchdowns in the win over the Vikings, four through the air and one on the ground. Evan Asato | SL

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Sat, Aug 15, 2015 @ Punahou [ 1:00 pm ]

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Hilo

0

Punahou

59

Final	1	2	3	4	T
Hilo (7-5-0)	0	0	0	0	0
Punahou (8-2-0)	21	28	7	3	59

• Pass
• Rush
• Rec

Ephraim Tuliloa 245 yd 4 TD

Kaale Tiogangco 74 yd

Wayne Taulapapa 98 yd 2 TD

Kahale Huddleston 46 yd

Eamon Brady 129 yd 1 TD

Kaonohiokala Boteilho 31 yd

MAKIKI — Looking in midseason form, Punahou rode its usual horses to a dominating 59-0 win over an outmatched Hilo team Saturday afternoon.

A crowd of about 300 fans at Alexander Field saw the Buffanblu (2-0) score on all but three of their offensive possessions to overwhelm the visiting Vikings (0-1).

Ephraim Tuliloa threw for 245 yards and four touchdowns on 15-of-20 passing to lead the charge for Punahou, the third-ranked team in the ScoringLive/Hawaiian Electric Power Rankings. Ethan Takeyama caught scoring strikes of 17 and 14 yards from Tuliloa in a 28-point second quarter and hauled in a 15-yard TD pass from backup quarterback Nicholas Kapule early in the third.

Eamon Brady, who opened the scoring with a 16-yard TD pass from Tuliloa, had game-highs of six receptions for 129 yards and Kyle Yoshino, who recorded a 62-yard TD pass from Tuliloa, added three grabs for 90 yards.

"I think we did good," said Tuliloa, who also ran in a 9-yard score early in the second quarter. "Our main goal coming into this game was to get a good start offensively. I think we did that, but at the same time we've still got a lot more work to do and a lot of improvements to make."

The Buffanblu are working in a fresh-faced receiving corps after all four starters from a year ago graduated.

"We don't really have that go-to receiver," Tuliloa said. "I think all the receivers play an equal part in the offense and they're all capable of making plays and they're all stepping it up when their number is called and making it happen and making it easier for me as the quarter, so it's good when you have playmakers around you."

Running back Wayne Taulapapa rumbled for 98 yards on just 13 carries and found the end zone on runs of 13 and 8 yards.

Defensively, Punahou allowed just 103 yards by Hilo, which managed only seven first downs for the game and was 1 of 14 on third downs. The Vikings were held to just 26 rushing yards.

"The defense is coming around, but you take a look at some of these great offenses in the state, it's always scary because you know they're so good, so we hope we get better every week and we get to the stage where we execute as well as we have to," Ane said.

Jet Toner made all eight of his extra-point attempts and had a 21-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter to close out the scoring. He attempted a 55-yard field goal first quarter and had plenty of distance on the kick, but the ball hit the right upright and bounced back.

Punahou played the second half with most of its backups in the game.

Kapule finished 10-of-12 passing for 176 yards. Neither he nor Tuliloa threw an interception.

"A coach is never satisfied or happy, but I think we performed well," Ane said. "The kids executed well and it was an opportunity for them to get out there and get under the lights, so it's a good thing to get in some real reps. It's different on the field when it's a game against when it's practice, so anytime we get a chance to get out there and get a lot of kids in there it helps the program."

Quarterback Kaale Tiogangco threw for 74 yards on 14-of-22 passing and running back Kahale Huddleston ran for 46 yards on five carries.

"It's a humbling experience and something that we've got to watch the film and learn from," Vikings' interim co-head coach Kaeo Drummondo said. "We definitely have to improve, we have to improve as a coaching staff getting our kids more prepared. We knew what we were getting into, we knew this was one of the top-notch programs in the state. The outcome is what it is. From here, we just have to keep on improving."

The Buffanblu held a 49-0 lead at halftime. The second half was played with a running clock.

It was the season opener for Hilo, which is coming off a 10-1 record and a first-round loss in the Division I state tournament in 2014.

Punahou, the reigning four-time Interscholastic League of Honolulu champion, has a bye next week before taking on Del Oro (Loomis, Calif.) at Memorial Stadium on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley on Sept. 4.